Direct Current #30/Box Office 2000

ITEM!  Tony Laplume - Mouldwarp Press #1 "Project Mayhem" now accepting submissions
This is the culmination of a lot of things, from writing challenges I participated in over the summer to the end of Hall Bros Entertainment, which in some ways began with Dead Letter Quarterly.  Well, now I'm throwing myself into the small press anthology game and this is my first project.  If you want to submit:

Read more here.

ITEM!  Comics Reader - Aquaman #s 0 & 13
Some recent issues from that dude Raj said sucks, but Geoff Johns has been trying really hard to make cool.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Star Trek Fan Companion - The Next Generation 1x8 "Justice"
This episode sucks, but because I'm writing about every episode, I've got to write about this one, too.  If you want to know how it specifically sucks, either I can remind you by saying that it's the one where Wesley is condemned to death, or at your own peril you can:

Read more here.

ITEM!  Examiner - The road to The Hobbit begins with Fellowship of the Ring
I have a look back at Peter Jackson's first Lord of the Rings film and remember the things that helped make it and the rest of the films (and the ones still coming) into such a phenomenon, including great acting from Ian McKellen and Sean Bean.

Read more here.

SOAP BOX

2000 was the start of the millennium (or if you want to view it that way, the end of the last one), so a lot of people remember it, but I think the hangover from all the partying affected their memory of the movies released that year.  But it wasn't so bad!

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($260 mil)
Like 1999's Phantom Menace, this was the most popular film of 2000 but you'd hardly know it today.  I don't know if it's because it's a holiday movie or people really don't like anyone screwing with Dr. Seuss (who is basically another modern Shakespeare).  Anyway, at least as far as how much money it made, the most popular film to star Jim Carrey.

2. Cast Away ($233 mil)
Tom Hanks spends a lot of time by himself, and some of it with a volleyball named Wilson, and by the end of the movie contradicts all expectations.  I loved it.

3. Mission: Impossible II ($215 mil)
Like Men in Black II, made lots of money, but fans tend to overlook it in the franchise.  Very memorable, thanks to typical John Woo finesse, but not as distinctive as its predecessor.

4. Gladiator ($187 mil)
Revamping the historical epic, Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe make everyone believe that audiences are going to love watching a lot of other movies like this.  They don't.  Long a personal favorite.

5. What Women Want ($182 mil)
The answer at the time was Mel Gibson.  But ask again in about a decade and you're likely to get a different one.

6. The Perfect Storm ($182 mil)
Remains one of George Clooney's highest grossing films, and perhaps the most human of the disaster genre.

7. Meet the Parents ($166 mil)
A phrase that no one thought they'd ever hear: Ben Stiller completes Robert De Niro.

8. X-Men ($157 mil)
And so the Marvel age of movies officially begins.

9. Scary Movie ($157 mil)
Because that's how it was at the time, the spoof of the horror spoof Scream was also a huge hit.

10. What Lies Beneath ($155 mil)
The last time Harrison Ford headlined a blockbuster by his name alone.

Other notable releases: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ($128 mil), Erin Brockovich ($128 mil; the Julia Roberts Appreciation Campaign ends on a high note), Traffic ($124 mil; the last time before Argo that audiences embraced a socially relevant film), The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps ($123 mil), Big Momma's House ($117 mil; Martin Lawrence begins believing that he is Eddie Murphy, because they starred together in Life), Remember the Titans ($115 mil), The Patriot ($113 mil), Miss Congeniality ($106 mil; Sandra Bullock's big comedy breakthrough), Unbreakable ($95 mil; arguably M. Night Shyamalan's best), Me, Myself and Irene ($90 mil; nutty Jim Carrey), The Emperor's New Groove ($89 mil; completely atypical Disney animated flick is also really awesome), The Family Man ($75 mil; Nicolas Cage does It's a Wonderful Life), Shaft ($70 mil; Samuel L. Jackson in a rare solo hit), Road Trip ($68 mil; the only time Tom Green amused me), The Cell ($61 mil; Jennifer Lopez's last great film, and Tarsem's first), Shanghai Noon ($56 mil; Jackie Chan & Owen Wilson), Romeo Must Die ($55 mil), Final Destination ($53 mil; the start of a signature horror franchise from the new millennium, Finding Forrester ($51 mil: Sean Connery starts the prototypical meme by uttering "You're the man now, dawg"), Dude, Where's My Car? ($46 mil; Ashton Kutcher & Seann William Scott achieve immortality), O Brother, Where Art Thou? ($45 mil; the Coens and George Clooney make old timey magic), Pitch Black ($39 mil; secret origin of Vin Diesel), 28 Days ($37 mil; Sandra Bullock being more sober), Keeping the Faith ($37 mil; Edward Norton being less sober), Thirteen Days ($34 mil; an unofficial sequel to JFK), Almost Famous ($32 mil; made Kate Hudson and Billy Crudup famous), Battlefield Earth ($21 mil; one of the more infamous bombs in box office history), Wonder Boys ($19 mil), Best in Show ($18 mil), Small Time Crooks ($17 mil; a modest success for Woody Allen), All the Pretty Horses ($15 mil; although Penelope Cruz is prettier), American Psycho ($15 mil; Christian Bale's adult career begins), You Can Count on Me ($9 mil), Screwed ($7 mil; an excuse to mention Norm MacDonald), Croupier ($6 mil; taking notice of Clive Owen), The Way of the Gun ($6 mil), The Virgin Suicides ($4 mil; debut of Sofia Coppola, the director), The Tao of Steve ($4 mil), Requiem for a Dream ($3 mil), Bamboozled ($2 mil; Spike Lee does blackface), But I'm a Cheerleader ($2 mil), Hamlet (1 mil; brilliant modern take starring Ethan Hawke), Tigerland ($100 thou; Colin Farrell's breakout role), The Boondock Saints ($30 thou)

Source: Box Office Mojo